electronics schools in the pacific northwest

[dannysgrandpa]

Does anyone here know of a good electronics school in my neck of the woods? I'm very interested in learning about circuits and possibly working as a repair tech in the music instrument/sound gear field. Thanks, Bill

[CaseyJones]

Does anyone here know of a good electronics school in my neck of the woods? I'm very interested in learning about circuits and possibly working as a repair tech in the music instrument/sound gear field. Thanks, Bill

Although Ohm's Law hasn't changed electronics education has. Your typical Intro to Electronics course will invlove lots of low voltage silicon and logic circuits that bear little similarity to tube or even vintage analog circuits that are the benchmark for tone.

What I'd suggest is take a couple Intro to Electronics courses at your local Community College or trade school. You just need the basics, DC circuits and the like. If you want to work on vintage gear you'll pretty much need to be self taught. The University of Arkansas apparently has a soft spot for vintage gear but they're not in your area.

Working as a repair tech: It's a competitive field. There are lots of "techs" out there and we're all chasing after more or less the same market. The repair work that walks in the door is usually run of the mill gear that's been rode hard and put up wet, we have to make it functional again at a price that won't cut into the typical musician's beer budget! No smiley, that's not a joke.

What you're up against is experience and reputation. There are established techs out there who are either inept or reamingly expensive or both but they've got a handle on their market because THEY were there first and you weren't. New guys will have to work hard to prove themselves and the competition is stiff, there are always lots of kids who will work for free befause they see this as their back door into "show biz".